Plastic Surgery Comes With Buyer's Remorse

The Chicago Tribune says that plastic surgery comes with buyer’s remorse so often that an entire industry has sprung up devoted to undoing the damage:

As plastic surgery has become increasingly common in America — some 16 million procedures were performed in 2007 — so has the consumer backlash.

Thousands of patients find themselves so displeased with the results of their surgeries that they are paying top dollar to undo what they had done. The demand for such procedures is so high that some doctors now promote themselves as “revision plastic surgeons” and devote up to 50 percent of their practices to such cases. The surgeries have earned their own nickname in the trendy nip-tuck world: undo-plasties.

“I’d say at this point that one out of about every two or three procedures I do is a revision surgery,” said Dr. Andrew Jacono, chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

Consumers should think long and hard before messing with nature, because (as we’ve mentioned before) plastic surgery doesn’t come with an extended warranty or excellent return policy. Wouldn’t you rather blame genetics for your ugly nose rather than yourself?

Unless you’re a victim of birth defects, fire/injury, or cancer (and similar ailments), I don’t see the need for it.

I’ve heard of some really horrific stuff people will do – hymens reattached, eyelid surgery, botched “beauty treatments” that cause massive scarring – it boggles my mind that people still get cup up for this.

And I have never understood the obsession with big breasts, even if there was no risk from surgery. Women with huge breasts are rarely as physically active as women with small breasts, then there’s the back pain, etc.

Another issue is that a lot of people that regret getting plastic surgery are the same ones who bargain-shopped. Getting the cheapest price for something as important as plastic surgery is just stupid.

Also, do your research and think about it long and hard before you make the jump. I’m all for people getting things fixed/changed if they really want to do it, but I see too many people rush into it who’re doing it for the wrong reasons or who really can’t afford it. If you’ve done your research, gave it some time to think about it, and you’re not killing yourself financially then you might be a good candidate.

@KJones: Hey I disagree. I think women with big boobs are more attractive than women with smaller chests. But they have to be natural, I hate seeing the “ripple” on the side or the grand canyon space between thier boobs.

@joeblevins: Out here in L.A. there are a lot of people who have massive amounts of plastic surgery. I was at a club about 2 weeks ago and there were 2 “women” together who were really attractive. The only thing that gave them away was thier hands and a weird tone to thier voices. The wife was actually suprised because they fooled her, we all talked for a few. They still had the male bits, total for the amount of surgery they each had was about 600k. I guess having the final change would add another 4-500k. But if it makes you happy than go for it.

One more thing is bugging me. Why are so many people so adamant that others shouldn’t get plastic surgery? They don’t know whom they’re talking about and they often make negative assumptions about the people who do it.

It bugs me because people do risky things all of the time in the name of fun/entertainment/beliefs. Things like jumping out of airplanes, racing cars, downhill mountain-biking, bungee jumping, and rock climbing. Then there are those who do things like getting tattoos, brandings, or piercing. And let’s not forget people who live unhealthy lifestyles out of pure laziness or choice (overweight, smokers, drug users, drinkers).

Why is everyone so quick to judge those who want to change his or her appearance? Why do people say things like, “Nobody likes fake boobs. I think they look/feel horrible” when it obviously isn’t true for everyone? Everyone can have his or her opinion, but guess what? These people aren’t doing it for you. Actually, there are a lot of people that appreciate the results of plastic surgery when it is done well.

I suspect that there are a lot of people who feel that those who get plastic surgery are “cheating” or that they don’t like the seemingly unfair competition. Those people would rather tell everyone else not to do it then have to consider his or her own issues. Of course everyone has his or her preference but the overly negative attitude some people have towards those who get plastic surgery leads me to believe there are underlying issues. (How’s that for negative assumptions? Ha!)

If someone wants to make their face look like a horse it is totally their own business to spend a large amount of money and take a huge risk with their life in order to do so. Extremely elective surgical compulsions with one’s looks appears to me as a sign of insecurity.

I think what does bother me about some of this is how it is marketed at people. Many of these clinics have tried to blur the line between medical clinic and beauty salon. That is a dangerous situation where one goes from largely non invasive beauty treatments into things that have medical risks without a clear line being crossed.

There were people who were injured by people who were not medical professionals injecting what they said was botox into other people’s faces. Many outpatient cosmetic procedures are being marketed as nothing more than beauty salon treatments. This is downplaying some substantial risks.

There are a couple of places locally selling laser skin treatments but there appears to be no state regulation on this and these people are not medically trained. There were a number of these places advertising this like it was a facial.

Some implants come out looking just fine. But is it worth the risk that you’ll look like a low-end stripper for that what…1 in 10? 1 in 100? chance of having implants that either look real, or are so good you don’t care that they’re fake?

Apparently a lot of women think so, and so there are a lot of tragic breasts out there.

Bargain shopping body modification leads to regret. The modification itself is not such a bad thing, but unskilled profiteers preying on the insecure and cheap are a bad thing. Because it is an elective procedure requiring a bit of skill and artistry, and not purely health, the burden of proof is in results. Research the procedures independently of surgeons(or tattoo artists, piercers, health spas, etc.) and seek out good word of mouth from people with wonderful work. I can’t imagine putting myself into a risky situation without knowing what those risks really are or not being able to completely trust the person I am entrusting myself to.

I’m all for plastic surgery. Your body, do what you want. But before spending money on something that could be potentially dangerous, MAYBE you should ask more questions and ask to see more simulated results from your practician. And be ready for potential errors.